Best handheld gaming console on the market now?

g-bebe · #1 08-26-2007, 03:22 PM

I'm by and large a PC-only gamer. Sure, I once in a while will be over at a friends house and play something on XBOX or PS, but I don't personally own a console and haven't owned or bought one since the N64. However, I'm constantly tempted to treat myself to something handheld, from either a PSP to a DS to a GBA.

I'm generally looking for commonly sought after popular titles that I haven't played before, such as some of the Zelda series, some of the Mario series, etc. that PC doesn't get quite the exposure to.

What's the best bang for the buck right now? As far as I can tell, GBA's seem quite cheaper than the other two, but I don't really want to get something that might have poor game selection, or that is starting to get phased out by the newer generation. Then again, I don't really want to dump a lot of money into it. I just want something affordable with decent enough graphics and good game selection.

Opinions?

Dire · #2 08-26-2007, 05:41 PM

The DS is backwards compatible with the GBA and is pretty affordable. If you're very price conscientious then the GBA does have a huge library of games just for it as well.

4 High · #3 08-26-2007, 06:15 PM

Almost everyone here will say DS, but i love my PSP.

MrWookie · #4 08-26-2007, 08:00 PM

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Almost everyone here will say DS

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ilya · #5 08-26-2007, 08:12 PM

DS Lite

ilya · #6 08-26-2007, 09:20 PM

btw GBA is in 2nd place behind the DS Lite, with the PSP a distant 3rd

4 High · #7 08-26-2007, 09:44 PM

Not really comparable. Like the Wii, i think the PSP is going after a different market. Not only that, but the ammount of market share Sony has been able to take away first time out is very impressive.

ilya · #8 08-26-2007, 10:00 PM

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Not really comparable. Like the Wii, i think the PSP is going after a different market. Not only that, but the ammount of market share Sony has been able to take away first time out is very impressive.

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i like the PSP actually. UMD movies may be worthless and its internet capabilities may be useless in the iPhone age, but the game library is solid and improving, with more original/"quirky" titles than people seem to think...GripShift, Exit, Every Extend Extra are just a few of the neato IPs...Field Commander is solid competition for Advance Wars, and the steady stream of RPGs and NIS SRPGs makes the system almost as otaku-friendly as the DS.

But the DS library is still bigger & better, while the system is a lot cheaper and looks cooler in its new Lite incarnation. Also Nintendo doesn't make you spend yet more money on memory cards or protective sleeves.

i don't think the Wii/PS3 rivarly (this time i'm squarely in the PS3 camp btw) makes for a good analogy actually, as handhelds are never gonna have groundbreaking graphics anyway, so the graphics they do offer make up a smaller % of their overall value.

g-bebe · #9 08-26-2007, 10:22 PM

Looks like the popular opinion is the DS Lite. Seems like it goes for about $140? I'm seeing EBgames offers used GBA's for something like $30, which seems like a pretty good deal considering games are still produced for it. Again, just like with consoles, it seems like the game prices are the things that burn your wallet, not the console itself.

edit: scouring wiki for a while, seems like the GBA:SP is pretty nice... just doesn't seem that available

Phoenix1010 · #10 08-26-2007, 08:53 PM

The DS is a monster. You can probably just get Mario Kart and have more fun than you would with a library of PSP games, and I've heard nothing but positive things about the new Zelda.

On the other hand, Sony has some plans for some kind of PSP-PS3 TV connectivity stuff so if you plan on getting a PS3 anytime look into that. Otherwise it's a no-brainer at this point.